Report: Why Vince McMahon Didn't Include NXT in WWE Survivor Series 2020

It came as a disappointment to many that NXT would not be featured in WWE's upcoming Survivor Series, which has always been about pitting the various brands against each other. It always features SmackDown and Raw, but last year it also featured NXT, and as far as fan response and ratings are concerned, it was a huge hit. That will not be the case this year though, and a new report from Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter might indicate why. According to the report, there are actually two reasons for it, both of which stem directly from Vince McMahon, and while the first one makes a lot of sense, the second one will leave some fans frustrated.

The first reason is that McMahon wants to keep the brands separate as much as possible in order to prevent more outbreaks of COVID-19, and in light of the recent flare-ups at the Performance Center and WWE overall, this actually makes quite a bit of sense.

The second reasons is that evidently, McMahon wants to make it clear that the Red (Raw) and Blue (SmackDown) brands are on a higher level then NXT, hence why the black and gold brand was kept out of both Survivor Series and the recent Draft.

NXT actually won last year's matchup of the brands at Survivor Series and was one of the best editions of the show in quite some time thanks to all the chaos and energy having them in the fold provided. That will be missing this year, and it also speaks to a change in approach.

Over the past year or so WWE has stopped using terms like call-up or main roster when regarding NXT, and Triple H has promoted it as the third brand of WWE. This is a big about-face in that regard, though after seeing what Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, and the former NXT stars of Retribution, maybe this is not a bad thing.

Hopefully next year the black and gold brand will be back in force, but in the meantime let us know how you feel in the comments or feel free to talk all things WWE with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!